UBS Announces Key Leadership Changes in Global and APAC Operations

UBS has named Iqbal Khan as the new President of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, effective September 1. Khan will also serve as co-president of Global Wealth Management (GWM). He is set to relocate to Asia later this summer with his family. Khan takes over from Edmund Koh, who has been APAC President since 2019. Koh will remain with UBS as the regional chair for APAC, continuing to support clients and businesses in the area.

This appointment is part of a wider restructuring at UBS. Rob Karofsky has been designated President of UBS Americas and will share the role of GWM co-president with Khan. Additionally, George Athanasopoulos and Marco Valla will become Co-Presidents of investment banking. Damian Vogel will replace Christian Bluhm as Group Chief Risk Officer. All three—Athanasopoulos, Valla, and Vogel—will join the bank’s Group Executive Board (GEB). Stefan Seiler, currently Head of Group Human Resources and Corporate Services, will also take on group communications and branding responsibilities.

Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Körner will step down from GEB at the end of June following the merger of the two parent banks and will retire from UBS later this year. Naureen Hassan, regional president of UBS Americas, will retire from the bank on July 1 after joining the firm in 2022.

Ermotti stated that the recent appointments to the Group Executive Board will facilitate continued progress on the integration journey and help realize expected synergies and efficiencies. The new leadership roles emphasize UBS’s long-term priorities and growth prospects, particularly in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions.

Group CEO Sergio P. Ermotti expressed gratitude for the contributions of Christian Bluhm, Edmund Koh, Ulrich Körner, and Naureen Hassan, acknowledging their exceptional service, particularly during this period of significant change.

Ermotti highlighted the significance of regional operations in the Americas and Asia. He mentioned that in March, he anticipated APAC to account for 20 percent of UBS’s total assets under management within five to six years, an increase from the current level of around 15 percent.

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